All X-Men Movie Final Battles Ranked

When it comes to action sequences in a live-action superhero movie, the X-Men are some of the most exciting to watch. They also lead to some of my favorite final battles I’ve ever seen in the genera, and with so many characters utilizing so many powers … it’s just one big feast for the eyes. So, for this post, I’ll be ranking all twelve final battles from the X-Men movies from the final battle I love least to the climax I love the most … here we go.

#13 Demon Bear Attacks from “The New Mutants”

In this spooky mutant venture, a new team of young hero’s are trapped in a school, with an evil doctor harnessing their powers for her own gain. One of the mutants has a rather unfortunate ability to bring everyone’s fears to life, and as things get out of control, the kids make a daring revolt against their captures. Victory is short lived, as their activities draw the attention of a mysterious outside entity simply referred to as “The Demon Bear”. 

What follows is an exciting battle that mixes superhero spectacles, with haunted house conventions. One of the students summons the tinny purple dragon Lockheed to aid in battle, which is something I never thought I’d have the privilege of seeing in an X-Men movie. Still, even with the extra fire power, the only one who can vanquish the demon is the girl who can bring fears to life … and she’s currently in a coma, fighting her inner demons. The visuals are trippy, the action exciting, and this climax could have ranked higher … had it not been for an anticlimactic conclusion ... in which the demon is vanquished through the power of love and caring … like a freaking Care Bears movie. Still, an entertaining finale to a middle of the road X-Men movie. 

 

#12 “Brothers in Arms … and Claws” from “X-Men: Origins Wolverine” 

Okay, let’s quickly address the elephant in the room ... Deadpool, the sword wielding murk with the mouth who’s nothing like his comic-book counterpart. Personally, I don’t even view this character as Deadpool at all, he’s just “Weapon 11” … a character created for this film alone. 

So, let’s all take a deep breath, we have the real Deadpool in the movie "Deadpool", and this Weapon 11 character is not him. Moving on from there … at the end of the film, he and Wolverine battle on Three Mile Island in a climactic final showdown, while a number of mutant children escape the clutches of evil scientists. Unfortunately for our lead hero, Weapon 11 has more than just two swords … he also has a wide collection of different mutant powers, and ... I think that’s awesome! I know I’m in the minority about this, but I’ve always wanted to see a character that utilized several powers at once. Plus, the final fight scene with Wolverine and Sabertooth teaming up to battle Weapon 11 is fantastic. Its shot beautifully, it’s a big spectacle, and manages to thrill even though I’m not invested in the characters or story. It’s certainly the goofiest battle of the series, but one that I can take mild enjoyment from for just how over-the-top it goes.

#11 “Claws vs Swords” from The Wolverine 

In this frequently criticized final battle, we see Wolverine battle a giant metal robot called The Silver Samurai. While I have great fondness for this movie overall, this admittedly is the only part where the film really feels like a typical comic book flick. It’s just out of place with the overall tone and feel of what led up to this. Having said that ... this is still a fairly awesome final battle. Seeing Wolverine go up against a robot soldier three times his size is nothing short of bad ass, and the indoor location of this giant tower is really cool, as it allows the characters to cover a lot of ground. 

Not to mention, The Silver Samurai poses a real threat to Wolverine, and he’s the only adversary who can actually cut through his metal claws. Now, this portrayal of The Silver Samurai is nothing like it’s source material, which might bother some fans. In both the comic books and the cartoon TV show, The Silver Samurai was actually one of Wolverines most interesting and iconic foes, but I’m all for changes in the movie, as long as it’s done with purpose. See, there’s a twist reveal as to who’s in The Silver Samurai’s armor, and while it’s very predictable, it also works for the story, and I really couldn’t imagine the film ending without this specific confrontation.

#10 “Escaping Strikers Base” from “X2: X-Men United” 

The whole third act of this movie takes place in Strykers claustrophobic underground base, which really isn’t the coolest setting for a big Climax. Seriously, a good chunk on this ending is just watching our hero’s walking or running around the dull interiors of this base with hardly any real action. Occasionally we’ll get something cool, like a fight between Jean Grey and a brainwashed Cyclops. Plus, there’s one stand-out piece duel between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike, which is arguably one of the most memorable fights in the series, and is often regarded as one of the best action scenes from a superhero movie. Unfortunately, once Deathstrike is defeated, there’s still a lot of movie left, and it’s hard to get as thrilled when the action ends 30 minutes before the climax even resolves. The situation at least is pretty extreme as Stryker is controlling Professor X, and using him to wipe-out every mutant on the planet. 

Then things get even crazier when Magneto takes advantage of the situation, and forces the professor to wipe-out all humans instead. So, I’m definitely on board with seeing our hero’s win the day, and the closing scene of this finale is outstanding. After Stryker is defeated, our heroes are stranded with a mass of water from a collapsed dam heading toward them. With no options left, Jean Grey sacrifices her life in order to save her friends, and this scene in a nut-shell is the best part of the whole movie. The way this was shot, acted and executed was nothing short of brilliant, and is right up there with Spock's noble sacrifice in “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan”. Unfortunately, there’s still too much roaming around this boring underground base, to the point where I just can’t place it any higher.

 

#9 “The Train Chase” from “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” 

At the start of this movies third act, we have two divided teams of mutant’s battling over what should be done about Jean. Unlike “Captain America: Civil War”, which set it’s super-powered brawl in an abandoned airport, this battle takes place in the public streets of New York, and sure enough … there are a lot of human casualties and wide-spread destruction as a result. The irony here is that our titular Dark Phoenix causes far less death and destruction than anyone else during this final battle. No joke, she wipes out the alien villains, and destroys their leader, but doesn’t inflict any real harm on our characters or cause any massive damage … unlike all our other heroes and anti-heroes who have all kinds of property damage, casualties, and blood on their hands during this final battle. 

Having said all that, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the climactic train chase sequence. As far as super-powered action set-pieces go, this train battle is a lot of fun watch, and makes for the biggest entertainment highlight of the movie by far. It’s got great energy, the layout is cool, and we see everyone’s powers on display. Unfortunately, they’re still things I find myself picking at during this climax. Chief among them being that the aliens remain in their boring human-disguises the whole time. It would have been so cool to see our heroes battling enemies with unique alien designs, as well as easy to tell them apart during all the chaotic fighting. Also, this is now the final battle in the whole X-Men franchise … so why aren’t they in their costumes for this event?   

#8 “Saving the Child … from Himself” from “Deadpool 2” 

In this final showdown, Deadpool and Cable join forces to prevent the boy called Fire Fist from making his first kill, and getting him away from the Juggernaut in the process. The battle takes place in an orphanage of sorts, where the evil scientist torture and experiment on mutant kids. Fire Fist sets the place a-blaze, while our hero’s brawl with the lab people, and combine strengths to fight the Juggernaut. Once again, I love the simplicity of the setting, as the destruction and explosions on display all feel real and practical. 

Also, keeping with this films trend of giving me something I’ve always wanted to see in an X-Men movie, this final battle features a showdown between the Juggernaut and Colossus, which was a dream come true to finally see in live action. I’ll admit, I prefer a fight with real actors as opposed to two CGI characters, but it somehow works in the realms of this film, and they even mock the fact that it’s a big CGI fight. One thing that has gotten a little too formulaic for me is that once again … we have a climax with our hero’s rescuing mutant kids from evil doctors. I feel that concept has been done to death in these “X-Men” movies. I also didn’t care for Deadpool’s drawn-out death scene, because I knew he wasn’t really going to die, so why drag this un-funny, un-emotional death out to the point where I just want it to end?

#7 “Battling with the World's Fate at Stake” from “X-Men: Apocalypse“ 

One common criticism levied against this film is that the action sequences are “overloaded”, but for me … that’s how I feel it should be for the X-Men. Heck, there really aren’t too many fights scenes in the film at all until the climax, and because of that, I was able to enjoy how supercharged and massive this final battle got. After all, this is the X-Men’s epic showdown with Apocalypse, and his four hours man ... of course it’s going to be a big spectacle! 

Sense Apocalypse is the most powerful mutant of all, our heroes have to team up and combine their powers together in order to stop him, and it’s just plain awesome! This climax takes that impressive final battle from “X-Men 3: The Last Stand” and makes it look like a snow ball fight. Of course the special effects are also impressive, but this movie utilized some signature X-Men visuals which "as long time fan" absolutely thrilled me. We see Jean Grey in her fiery Phoenix form, we see Professor X in a mental battle with Apocalypse on an astro-plane, and when Nightcrawler teleports we see him traveling through dimensions. 

My favorite moment of all is when Magneto separates Apocalypse from our heroes by combining two large poles together, and making them resemble a large X. These are the kind of visuals, events and set-pieces that characterized the X-Men in both the comics and the TV show. In truth, seeing all this come to life on screen it just made me feel like a kid again. There's even a chilling moment when the villain dies, as he gives a look of satisfaction that ... even though the world may not end his way, it will come to be at the hands of Jean Grey. While this film overall is regarded as an average X-Men movie, this is still one of my favorite climaxes in the whole franchise. 

#6 “Scaling the Statue of Liberty” from “X-Men” 

This final battle is set on Liberty Island, where Magneto has set-up a device that will mutate all the people of New York, and more importantly all the United-Nation leaders who gathered on Elis Island. This way all the world leaders will be mutants, and hopefully usher in a new era of peace. The catch is that Magneto isn’t aware that his machine has a nasty side effect of killing anyone exposed to its radiation. 

This was a great idea, as it made Magneto a threat, without making him your typical cartoon villain who simply wants to kill off all humanity. He also needs to transfer his power to Rouge in order to fuel the machine, which will regrettably take her life too. So, the stakes are definitely high enough, and it’s here that we finally get some cool mutant vs mutant action. We see Jean Grey fight Toad, we see Mystique engage Wolverine in a deeply thrilling scuffle, and the highlight is the final duel between Wolverine and Sabertooth on the head-peace of the statue. This is personally one of my favorite action scenes in the whole series, and the head piece is the perfect setting for these two characters to duke it out. 

More than anything, I love how this climax resolves. Our heroes succeed in destroying the machine, but they were too late to save Rogue. So, Wolverine gives up his life-force in order to save her, proving once and for all that he really is a hero willing to make sacrifices. I love the way this scene was shot, with a somber, yet beautiful musical score, and the image of Wolverine lying beaten and near death on the floor is far more powerful than your typical money shot of the hero standing triumphant.

 

#5 “Junk-Yard Rumble” from “Deadpool“ 

Personally, this is not one of my favorite movies in the series, but the big climax at the end … hands down, one of my favorites of this franchise. Usually, these final battles start with the X-Men taking off in the X-Jet, but this time their all squeezing in a little cab, which is hilarious, and a fun way to kick things off. Then we get that classic action movie cliché of our team of hero’s walking in a straight line, which is undeniably one of my favorite takes I’ve ever seen of this, as it was both funny and kick ass at once … especially with Deadpool looking at the camera and saying “cue the awesome music”. 

The fight takes place in a junked-up ship-yard, which is an awesome location, allowing the characters to cover a lot of ground, and destroy a lot of objects. It’s also really refreshing to have an epic final battle with simplistic stakes, and only a hand-full of team members brawling. It all concludes with a one-on-one duel between Deadpool and Ajex, which is actually a pretty darn cool fight. Deadpool fights with his swords, Ajex fights with axes, the choreography is swift, quick and it’s just a treat to see such a classy, old school fight in a superhero film. 

 

#4 “Assault on Alcatraz” from “X-Men 3: The Last Stand“ 

At the end, Magneto’s army of mutant’s attack Alcatraz in an effort to destroy the mutant cure, but the X-Men arrive to be the last line of defense. This climax is outstanding, and arguably one of my favorite final battles I’ve ever seen in a comic book adapted film. First of all, I love the build up to this fight. There’s a great little scene where all the X-Men are onboard the X-Jet, and on route to this massive battle. 

With no dialogue you can see how nervous and how concerned every team member is to be heading off to a war that they may not return from, and it’s just a great little scene. Then of course the best moment of all is when the team finally arrives, they all land on the battle field one at a time, and they stand together in one strait line against Magneto’s army. It’s one of my top 3 favorite moments in the whole series, and it give me chills every time I see it. 

Of course, the battle itself is awesome, we have Juggernaut chasing Shadow Cat throughout the complex, Beast is leaping around beating up bad guys, Iceman’s cold powers colliding with the fiery powers of Pyro, Magneto’s launching flaming cars, Dark Phoenix unleashes all her powers, and it’s just one big feast for the eyes. Of course, the ending itself isn’t as great. After building up one hell of an epic confrontation between Wolverine and Phoenix ... he just pulls out the claws and kills her … which is a complete waist. Still, putting aside that one glaring problem, I still love this finale.

#3 “Wolverines Final Stand” from “Logan” 

As we build to the finale, our heroes meet more genetically cloned mutant children who are being hunted by the cybernetic Reavers. Watching these kids unleash their powers on the attacking solders is the closest this film ever gets to feeling like a real X-Men movie, and its great stuff. The climax in general couldn’t be simpler, as it’s just Wolverine and his daughter fighting off armed troopers in the woods, just to keep some kids safe. It’s so simplistic, yet it’s so much more engaging then the super-powered brawls we usually get from most comic book films. The only thing holding this climax back on my countdown are the films so-so villains, who just aren’t that interesting, or exciting to see our hero’s face-off with. 

Still, seeing Wolverine and X-23 fight side by side is a dream come true, as well as pure bad ass. This is also the most intense climax of the X-Men series as our hero is beaten, bruised, bloody and out of breath the whole time. When the fighting concludes, we get to the films big, emotional highlight ... the death of Wolverine. 

To kill a big-name superhero like Wolverine is a risky venture if not handled well, but I’m happy to say that it was very well earned in this film. All the previous themes in the film come together beautifully, and the scene was shot with perfection. The acting on display is sensational, and Wolverines final exchange with his little girl is as impact-full as they get.

 

#2 “The Cuban Mutant Crises” from “X-Men: First Class“ 

This Climax ... holly cow, this is personally one of my favorite individual battles of the whole series. Both the United States and the Soviet Union have fleets baring down on one another off the coast of Cuba, their war ships are armed, and the X-Men are caught right in the cross fire as they battle the Hellfire Club. The whole situation is just dynamic and creative as hell, with our hero’s teleport-ting to various locations, flying through fleets of ships, lots of explosions, and lots of really cool mutant versus mutant action. 

As the fight wages, Magneto gets into a thrilling confrontation with the villain, which leads to one of my favorite villain death sequence I’ve ever seen in an action film. When all the fighting is said and done, the climax closes on this really powerful note as Magneto shows his true colors, and parts ways with Professor X, while leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. It’s one of the best acted, and impact-full scenes of the whole series, and makes for one hell of a finale.

 

#1 “A New Tomorrow” from “X-Men: Days of Future Past“ 

When I think of an X-Men final battle that can match the same level of excitement and spectacle as any climax in the Avengers movies … “Days of Future Past” is arguably the most epic finale of the whole series. Unlike all the others, this one takes place across two different time periods. In the future, the X-Men make a daring last stand against the Sentinels, which is nothing short of thrilling. Meanwhile in the past, Magneto is leading his re-programmed Sentinels against President Nixon and the other humans in Washington. 

He lifts up Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, and uses it as a barricade to trap everyone in the white house. Our hero’s intervene, but the odds aren’t on their side. I can’t even describe in words how awesome this climax is. It’s suspenseful, it’s riveting, it’s creative, and has just enough powerful moments to play to the characters emotional sides. It gives me the most of any X-Men movie, and this climax is my favorite by far.

Thanks for reading my action-packed countdown … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!